Flashcards for A Married State

The Husband

In A Married State, The Husband serves more as a symbolic figure than as a fully developed character.

character

The Speaker

The Speaker in A Married State serves as a detached observer, providing a straightforward and unsentimental evaluation of marriage as an institution.

character

The Wife

In A Married State, The Wife acts as both a dramatic character and a warning symbol, illustrating the harsh reality of marital constraints that the poem's speaker cautions against.

character

“A married state affords but little ease: / The best of husbands are so hard to please.”

This couplet begins Katherine Philips's short poem "A Married State," written in the mid-seventeenth century.

Katherine Philips (the poetic speaker / "Orinda") · A Married State (complete poem)

“If thou desire to know a happy life, / Avoid the title of a wife.”

This couplet opens the poem "A Married State" (often recognized by its first line), attributed to Katherine Philips (1632–1664), the renowned Welsh poet known as "the Matchless Orinda."

Katherine Philips (poetic speaker / narrator) · A Married State (full poem)

“No blustering husbands to create your fears.”

This line is from Katherine Philips's poem "A Married State" (also referred to as "Advice to Virgins"), a sharp and clever piece that advises women against marriage.

The poetic speaker (Katherine Philips) · A Married State (poem)

“No children's cries for to offend your ears.”

This line is taken from the poem "A Married State" by Katherine Philips (1632–1664), one of the first known female poets writing in English.

The poetic speaker (voice of Katherine Philips)

“A virgin state is crowned with much content.”

This opening line is from Katherine Philips's poem "A Married State," written in the mid-seventeenth century.

Poetic persona (Katherine Philips / "Orinda") · A Married State (opening line)

“These are the comforts marriage can produce.”

This ironic line comes from Katherine Philips's poem "A Married State" (1632–1664), one of the earliest significant female voices in English literature.

Poetic persona (Katherine Philips / 'Orinda')

“When young girls marry, they must learn to please / A crabbed husband with obsequious ease.”

This couplet is taken from "A Married State," a poem often credited to Katherine Philips, known as the "Matchless Orinda," though there has been debate over its authorship.

Poetic/narrative voice (attributed to Katherine Philips)

Chains of Bondage

In A Married State, chains of bondage illustrate the stifling loss of freedom that marriage can bring, especially for women.

The Married State

In A Married State, the concept of marriage serves as the central symbol of the work, highlighting the complex and often conflicting nature of this social institution.

The Virgin Life

In A Married State, the virgin life symbolizes freedom, autonomy, and rational self-control, contrasting with the burdens and restrictions of marriage.

Free Verse

Although Philips operates within a generally regular framework, 'A Married State' intentionally breaks from strict metrical patterns in several lines, creating an impression of reasoned argument rather than song.

Metaphor

The poem uses a metaphor that portrays marriage as a landscape of suffering, suggesting that 'a married state affords but little ease' and that the married woman must navigate 'many thorns.'

Imagery

Philips makes her argument using vivid sensory details instead of lofty moral statements.

Irony

Philips uses irony effectively when she concedes that even 'the best of husbands' can't protect a wife from suffering.

Aporia

The poem creates a sense of rhetorical uncertainty by suggesting that marriage could be bearable under ideal circumstances.

Parallelism

Philips organizes her argument using parallel constructions that contrast married and single states in balanced phrases.

Volta

A clear volta happens when the speaker shifts from listing the difficulties of even a good marriage to offering her straightforward advice: 'Then, maids, be wise.'

Apostrophe

After the volta, Philips directly addresses 'maids' — unmarried women — marking a significant shift in the poem's social tone.

Anaphora

Philips employs anaphora to create mounting pressure regarding marriage.

Understatement

Philips truly excels at understatement, especially when she notes that even the best marriage "affords but little ease."

Rhetorical Question

Though Philips doesn't directly include rhetorical questions in the poem, the overall argumentative structure suggests one: why would any woman choose marriage when its best outcome is 'but little ease'?

Motif

The theme of care — encompassing domestic, emotional, and physical aspects — weaves through the poem as a central element.